Bloody Chamber Commentary Essays

Bloody Chamber Commentary Essays Bloody Chamber Commentary Essay Bloody Chamber Commentary Essay Essay Topic: Jaws There Will Be Blood It is late evening, the child runs out onto the moonlit green, searching for something in the lean grass, she had only the light of the moon to guide her as she gazes into the ground in melancholy. She swore she had it on her earlier, she swore to look after it, she swore she wouldnt lose it, but, as whenever we promise ourselves something, the worst always seems to happen. It started with a doll, a petite wooden doll her late mother had given her. The feel of it against her skin did nothing to bring back the warm embrace of her. A dress of embroidered orange silk, the stitching on it as fine and golden as a thread of Rapunzels hair or the spun gold of that millers daughter who had given her word in exchange for a name, her tiny painted face relentlessly smiling in sympathy. Since then she had never managed to hold onto anything for long. Each precious gift would go missing in time, no matter how extensively she clung to it, as a spider clings its sticky, furred, legs to a painted wall. Someone had taken it, it had been there and now it was gone, she remembered it clear as day, even though the dim night had already crept in, had muted the daylight. Innocence has flushed from her cheeks into a guilty crimson. There was no end to her excuses. After that it was an antique music box, the lid engraved with her initials in the cursive script of an antique bible or a medieval tapestry. It played a sweet tune as the tiny figure turned and swirled and spiralled, it had sent chills down her thin frame whenever she heard it. After its elusive disappearance she had heard the merry tune again, this time sinister, at night, but only ever when her eyes were tightly closed. She would reach out for it in longing, almost touching, her fingertips longing for the touch of the bitter, reassuring metal. Then it was gone. It started with a doll and it finished with a tiny golden ball. Perhaps it had fallen down the well. She remembered throwing it into the air yesterday morning, while she sat and hummed a tune at the edge of the black hole. She had peered in, hoping to see the splash of a tiny water snake she had seen once before, but the well was low, the black liquid could not be seen, and only a dropping pebble would reveal the true depth. A call from the house had prompted her to leave; perhaps she had left it there, perched on the side, peering into the abyss. Morning, the sun shone down, touching her ashen skin with its golden tendrils. Her father knew nothing about her missing gift; she knew it would break his ruby heart to hear of its disappearance. Shed searched and hunted all night with no luck. Maybe the vivid morning sun would cast its glow into the direction of her golden orb. Id do anything to get it back. She looked into the horizon, scanning her tired eyes across the emerald green earth. She could see the jagged form of something, developing in detail as it edged toward her. Movement, his thin body swerving and slithering towards her, his eyes as green as the ground he slipped across. His skin so smooth. His smile melted her. You are looking for something, he whispered, his red tongue caressing the soft flesh of his inner cheek as he spoke, looking for something I have. An unravelled palm looked like a spring bud opening to the sun, and there it was, growing and shrinking in his fleshy hold, the light ebbing and flowing off of it like the scales of an iridescent water-snake stirring below the surface of azure settled waters. Take it. She was Eve and he was the serpent, the orb a polished scarlet apple. A snake charmer humming an enchanting refrain. Take it. Green omniscient eyes embraced her body, her breathing slows, her blood feels as though it is trickling through her body like th e fresh, cool stream that ran beside her. She reached out, just as she had in her dreams, the same soft fingertips, the same enchanting melody, the same cool touch. His lips met hers. Inhaling the warm breath from her lungs. The blood drained from her eyes. She hugged the floor, her fingernails gripping to the hard earth, the world was spinning, she was falling, the gravity pulled her further down. A single tear flew from her eye into the sky. Then, she slept. He curled his body around her, jaws wide. The scales of his cracked skin rubbed against hers. A glow of a beady eye. A flick of a red tongue. A flash of those white-hot raw teeth, jagged and roughen. He engulfed her. And slinked away. Commentary Angela Carters stories have several very distinct elements. She often subverts characters traditional roles and values, teamed with rich description and imagery. The incredibly stereotypical characters in fairytales make it perfect for Angela Carter to take a different twist on. In my piece, the first Carter style technique I have used is the switching of tenses. While the story starts in the present tense, with It is late evening, very different to common narrative, it soon switches to past tense. It also switches between events that have happened recently or are happening to something that has happened long before, for example in the switch from the first paragraph being in the present tense and the second paragraph switching to a past event or story. This is similar to the way The Bloody Chamber changes between the current events and much earlier in the story. This makes the reader feel more involved in the story, as the present tense really puts them in the position of what is going on around them. As well as this technique, I used the technique of directly addressing the reader, which again involves them in the story more with the phrase whenever we promise ourselves something, the worst always seems to happen. This makes the reader think of their own personal issues helps them find a similarity with the main character. I also used a similar juxtapositioning of words, which help create a contrast. I described the feel of the music box as bitter, reassuring metal. This contrast creates a different image of the seemingly innocent item and makes it more complex to the reader, whilst also adding a sense of darkness. Because the image took place during a dream, I thought this phrase helped to encapsulate the overwhelming feelings of the dream/nightmare in a way that all readers can relate too but is difficult to express. In most typical fairytales the male characters are usually strong and desirable, and the evil characters are often female, ugly and cruel characters. In my piece I have created the villain as a man to subvert this. The villain, despite being oddly enchanting, has a strong negative side in description. I have portrayed him as a character that seems unnaturally charming but also someone to be wary of. This is a strong change from the normal fairytale males, usually obviously handsome and safe, yet my character still has some of the typical dominant male qualities, his eyes as green as the ground he slipped across. His skin so smooth., this phrase is not necessarily negative but strongly reinforces the idea of the true identity of the male. I also included a variety of different sentence lengths. Minor sentences have more impact and stand out; sentences such as There was no end to her excuses. In this case, the short sentence emphasises the situation of the character. I combined the power of three along with these minor sentences in the description A glow of a beady eye. A flick of a red tongue. A flash of those white-hot raw teeth. This style is similar to the way a person may take in the characteristics of a person they have met, a list of their most prominent features. I mixed some other myths and fairytales into the story when I said golden as a thread of Rapunzels hair or the spun gold of that millers daughter. This slightly sets the time and place of the story, as the character would have to have heard the stories to reference them. However, because of the lack of detail there is still some mystery in the time and setting. This is similar to the phrase in The Bloody Chamber when the main character describes the glass box telling the story of Bluebeard. When describing the male character, I wanted to portray an element of mystery to the form the character appeared in, as in many of Carters stories, the actual form of the character only becomes apparent near the end of the story, or sometimes not at all. In my story the form of the character at the end is rather obvious, with phrases like The scales of his cracked skin, although when previously describing him I tried to give him the serpentine elements but in a way so they could have been used to describe a real human being. This technique is very apparent in Carters Wolf-Alice and I wanted to achieve the same mystery as this with my story. The general tone of the story starts off fairly innocent, but as the story develops the darkness appears, perhaps with the introduction of the male figure. Also, the temptation of the female character was another common feature in most fairytales, and I imitated this in my piece. The way in which Carter shows dialogue makes the reader again feel involved. In my story, all the dialogue occurred during descriptions. I thought this flow of dialogue included the reader in the situation in the same way. Most common fairytales all have some kind of moral. Usually these morals are intended to teach children what not to do. For example, be careful what you wish for or things dont always appear as they seem. In my story I have played with this idea, as my piece is loosely based on the Frog Prince I have looked into the moral things are not always what they seem. In the original Frog Prince, the ugly frog turns out to be a handsome Prince. However, in my story I decided to make a significant twist. Infact the moral of my story was that sometimes things are what they seem, and sometimes people who appear suspicious are exactly what you think of them. Another point I tried to add was the idea of the enchantment being similar to that of Eve and the Serpent in the garden of Eden. The male characters charm is similar to that of the serpent in convincing Eve to take the apple. The golden orb also represents the apple of the story. This religious aspect of the story strongly relates back to the traditional fairytales which combined magic realism with strong religious views. In many traditional fairytale the replacement of a mother with a step-mother, or no mother at all, is very apparent. In my story I made reference to the lack of a mother figure when I said a petite wooden doll her late mother had given her. The feel of it against her skin did nothing to bring back the warm embrace of her. This is a common fairytale feature. In conclusion, I think my story showed many of the similar stylised techniques as Carters stories. The overall values of common fairytales were clearly apparent, but along with several elements that are similar to Carters own style.